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Mary Oliver reads her poem, “Many Miles”
A poem is an act of attentiveness, many have said. But few pay closer attention to the world — particularly nature — than Mary Oliver, one of my favorite poets. Indeed, she may be America’s most gifted...
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Books to box office: Gary Snyder and David James Duncan hit the silver screen
There are books that inspire you — and books that change your life. In 1990 I was a senior at DePauw University in central Indiana. That fall, while wrapping up an English lit minor in Asbury Hall, I...
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Volcanic visions: Iceland to Washington
I have a friend with a plane ticket to Norway this weekend, and another stuck in France trying to get home. Not a chance. Air travel is grounded as a volcano in Iceland spews ash over northern Europe....
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Meteors to migrants: Life like fire
With spring in full swing, my mind is racing with emerging plants and wildlife — Dutchman’s breeches and pink-petaled Hepatica, cerulean warblers and scarlet tanagers, silver maples draped with...
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Driftless
If you follow this blog, you know I have a new home. It’s called the Driftless Area, the unglaciated landscape of southwestern Wisconsin and corners of adjacent states, the heart of it pierced by the...
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May daze: Tree hugging in high gear
“Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day.” – E.B. White Whew! Where did the month go? With May came long,...
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Gary Snyder sent me packing: Vote for my essay at High Country News
Please vote for my essay at High Country News! For its “Stories of the Working West” contest, I submitted “Busted Beer Cans and Baby Culture,” a title born in the mountains of Washington State, my home...
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Boys in boats: Canoeing the Upper Miss backwaters
“There is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” – Rat’s advice to Mole, from Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows (1908) My...
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Memories like mountains: Using photos for route finding
Pen in hand, where do I start? My mind races with landscapes, family and friends, good times and heartbreakers, journeys beyond count. The memories stretch across decades, scattered like ten thousand...
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Terrible twos, thespian threes: Toddler recites poem
The poem is “Litany” by Billy Collins, a former U.S. poet laureate. After watching the video above, check out this clip of Billy explaining and reading the poem himself. Whose version do you like...
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Paper or plastic?: It’s a big question
Paper or plastic? It’s a question we’ve all pondered in the grocery line over the years. But like dozens of decisions we make each day, it’s an environmental issue worth discussing with family and...
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High Country News: Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac and lookout tales in the North...
Good news! My North Cascades-inspired essay, “Busted Beer Cans and Baby Culture,” was published in High Country News, appearing in its magazine and on its website, www.hcn.org. Thanks to votes from...
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The write stuff?
While pursuing a MFA in creative nonfiction from Ashland University, I’ve been pitching and writing short articles for local and national publications. Two are pictured above, High Country News (see my...
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Jack Kerouac on The Steve Allen Show in 1959
“Beyond the glittery street was darkness and beyond the darkness the West. I had to go.” – Jack Kerouac, from On the Road (1957) I’ve always thought there were two Jack Kerouacs, one shy and awkward in...
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Fishing for stories: Winter article and 2011 column
While settling in Onalaska, Wisconsin, last winter, I snapped the above photograph of our new home’s mascot, the bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), a member of the sunfish family. In fact, our little town...
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Muse Road: Kentucky kin on Google Maps
I like to explore the ties of people to landscapes, how a particular place shapes who we are and how we in turn shape it. Think about the arc of your life in terms of geography. What landscapes fill...
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Humor, outrage, awe: What kind of nature writing moves you?
What kind of nature writing moves you? Is it the skill of the writer or the poignancy of her cause that gives the writing its luster? Who are your favorites, and why? From Aldo Leopold’s lyrically...
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“Patience and pluck” in La Crosse Magazine
Enjoy my new naturalist column in La Crosse Magazine, which covers the hilly, stream-laced terrain of southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa known as the 7 Rivers Region. Titled “A...
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